Axed soap star Bruce Jones has spoken about the agonising depression that drove him to try to kill himself – along with the wife he adored.

Bruce, 60, lost his slot as Coronation Street neighbour from hell Les Battersby in 2007 when his personal problems spiralled.

Later, seized by depression, he tried to grab the steering wheel off his wife Sandra and crash their car so they would die together.

The terrifying episode was the low point of Bruce’s battle with mental illness, which he believes was triggered by several traumatic events, including finding the mutilated body of a Yorkshire Ripper victim.

The dad-of-four described how one night when Sandra picked him up from a pub in North Wales he planned to kill them both.

He added: “I just knew I’d had enough.” I said, ‘Whatever happens tonight, you’re going with me. I love you that much’.

“We we were driving down the A55 doing 60mph and I decided to turn the wheel and take us out.

"She was driving and was strong enough to get control of the car. I could have killed 25 people behind us.”

He was carted off to rehab, refused to admit he was ill, and later received a suspended jail term for drink driving and dangerous driving.

But mental illness had blighted his life even at the height of his fame.